The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a heavy burden on our personal lives which extends to youth sports. The Morris United Soccer Club has been in operation since 1978 and has never experienced the challenges associated with navigating the current times.
The Morris United Soccer Club is a 501(c)3 charity run by volunteers and operates solely for the benefit of its youth participants. The yearly operating budget for all MUSC programs function on the principle of a net zero residual where the costs of programs are 100% recovered by the fees and donations received each year. There is no excess or retained profits to offset unplanned expenses. Morris United operates in this way to minimize the costs of our programs to our participants. For the Travel Premier program, fees are collected at the beginning of the seasonal year and are used to pay program costs throughout the year. A significant portion of these costs are paid (due) ahead of a season (fall or spring). The ability of the Morris United Soccer Club to offer refunds is directly related to our ability to recover these payments as credits or cash refunds.
As a Club that has been in operation for over 30 years, MUSC recognizes the need to be ready to continue with a viable Travel Premier program when we fully return to play. To that end, the Travel Premier program made an early decision in the "shut down" process to retain our STA professional trainers and to offer social distanced remote training. We recognize this is not ideal, but it served the best interests of the club and our participants to provide a structured format for continued training during the lock-down and to ensure we would have the staff available to continue with a viable program for the 2020-21 season.
MUSC recognizes that the spring 2020 season is not as we'd hoped, and based upon the expenses recovered and in partnership with our STA Trainers, we are able to offer our participants the following refund/benefits for the spring 2020 season:
| Full Year Teams
| Spring Only Teams |
| Program Fee | $1125 | $580 |
| Spring Portion of Fee | $562.50 | $580 |
| Spring Refund Amount | $450 | $500 |
| Portion of Refund as Cash | $275 | $500 |
| Portion of Refund as Credit | $175 | $0 |
| Free Travel Premier Training Camp | $110 | n/a |
| Total Value Returned | $560 | $500 |
To help address questions that may arise, please review the below FAQS. If you still have a question regarding the refund, please contact Jason Rees at [email protected].
FAQs
How will I receive the cash portion of my refund?
MUSC will apply a credit to the credit card used to make the original payment for the 2019-20 season. In certain instances MUSC may need to issue a check. If this is required, you will be contacted directly that a check will be issued.
The original credit card used to make my payments for 2019-20 season is no longer valid, what do I need to do?
Contact Jason Rees at [email protected] to make alternate arrangements for your refund.
My child has already registered for the coming 2020-21 Travel Premier season, can I get my full refund as a credit for the coming season?
Yes. A manual adjustment is required, please contact Jason Rees at [email protected] to make alternate arrangements for your refund to be applied as a credit.
Why is a portion of my spring fee being refunded as a credit?
MUSC made decisions regarding its Professional Trainer staff, and did not recover 100% of the expenses for the spring as cash refunds. As such, MUSC does not have the ability to offer 100% cash refunds. MUSC has positioned its refunds to give the largest portion back as cash as possible, and positioned the remainder as a credit or free training.
Why is the fee refunded different for full year teams and spring only teams?
Spring only teams are made up players in older age groups who may be aging out of MUSC Premier Travel and who only play high school soccer in the fall. As such, a larger cash refund is appropriate for this age of player.
I am a needs based scholarship player, will I receive a refund?
Players who receive financial assistance to cover their expenses for the Travel Premier program will receive a refund for payments that are in excess of the minimum required fee paid by non-scholarship players . For full year players the minimum fee is $785 and for spring players the minimum fee is $80. Scholarship players who's payments are below these amounts will not receive a refund.
My child will be play with MUSC STA this coming season, can I apply my credit to the MUSC STA fee?
Yes. A manual credit will need to be applied. Please contact Jason Rees at [email protected] to work out the logistics of the credit with STA.
My child will be play MUSC Recreation soccer or STA this coming season, can I apply my credit to the MUSC Rec or STA fee?
Yes. A manual credit will need to be applied. Please contact Jason Rees at [email protected] to work out the logistics of the credit with STA or MUSC Rec.
My child will not play soccer with MUSC for the coming season, can I get the credit portion of my refund as a cash refund?
No. MUSC has worked out the refunds to provide the most benefit for the majority of its players. MUSC does not have the ability to offer a larger cash refund for players who request it. However, we will extend your credit for when you do return to play with MUSC for any of it's programs.
Can I transfer the credit portion of my refund to another player outside of my family?
No. Credits are for the immediate benefit of the player who is registered with MUSC. MUSC has extended the ability to use this credit for another family member registered on the same account if requested by the Parent/Guardian. Under no circumstances may the credit be transferred to a player who is not a dependent of the Parent/Guardian for the account.
Why doesn't MUSC carry insurance for a canceled season?
Catastrophic season cancellation insurance is not an insurance product that is readily available for clubs, and is not a standard insurance type carried by youth sports organizations. Individual policies are available for participants, but they typically only cover if a player is injured/medically unable to play and do not cover the current COVID-19 situation.